Test after Test

A year of testing for the class of 2024

Staff Member: Cassidy Aitken

Position: Staff Writerter

Junioryear is commonly referred to as the hardest year of high school, and well that is certainly true for the class of 2024. This recent school year the state of Idaho made a change that ISAT testing would be moved to the Junior class from this year on. This means that the current juniors (the class of 2024) will take the ISATs in march.

Along with taking the ISATs to graduate SHS students most also take the SAT. The SAT takes place during april. Along with the ISAT and SAT Juniors who are taking AP classes must also take the AP exams during the beginning of May. For some students this means up to 10 tests in the span of 3 months. This is a insane amount of testing for any person to endure. With hours already spent studying for the SAT and AP exams its unrealistic for the State of Idaho to expect Juniors to be ok with another 5 tests. Students get burnt out after standardized testing, and it doesn’t help that SATs and AP exams are in the coming months after.

When asked if Idaho thought about students when making this decision Noah Spinney states “I believe idaho did not think about students when making this choice. Idaho only wants results in which benefits them.” Many students at Sandpoint High School share this belief. Student Kaden Brady States that “I think that the fact that we have to take ISATs on top of SATs is just ridiculous.”. Although Idaho believes that testing a Junior will produce a more accurate result than maybe testing a Freshman or a Sophomore, it is still unfair that Juniors have so many tests to take. A long class period or day of testing can drain a person and make them feel burnt out. With the stress of everyday life Juniors do not need another thing on top of it. Although teachers and the school have made attempts to try and ease the stress of this, it is still a lot for a 16-17 year old to take on.